The 2001 Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18) is a standardized measure based on new national norms that werecollected February 1999-January 2000. The CBCL is to be completed by the parent/caretaker who spends the most timewith the child.

The CBCL/6-18 includes open-ended items covering physical problems, concerns, and strengths. Parents rate how true each item is now, or was within the past 6 months, using the same 3- point scale utilized on the YSR and TRF.

The CBCL/6-18 yields scores on internalizing, externalizing, and total problems as well as scores on DSM-IV related scales. It is one of the most widely used outcome measures.

Parallel/Alternate Forms

Youth Self-Report (YSR) and Teacher Report Form (TRF) are related questionnaires used with different informants. The CBCL is available for two age ranges: CBCL 1½-5 and CBCL/6-18.

Psychometrics

Norms :

Age Groups

Gender

Notes on Psychometric Norms:

For the 2001 CBCL/6-18, of 2,181 children initially eligible, 2,029 parents completed the CBCL (93.0%). TRFs & YSRs were administered as well. From this sample, children who did not receive mental health, substance abuse, or major special education services within the previous 12 months were retained. This left a non-referred total sample of 1,753 children from 40 states.

Two age groups were constructed (6-11) and (12-18), and genders were separated.

T-Scores: 65-69 (Borderline), 70+ (Clinical), no T-score >100 or <50 are generated for narrow band scales. T scores as low as 26 are generated for Total Problems and as low as 10 for Total Competence.

Reliability:

Type:

Rating

Statistics

Min

Max

Avg

Test-Retest

Pearson's r

0.8

0.94

0.88

Internal Consistency

Cronbach's alpha

0.63

0.97

0.8

Inter-rater

Pearson's r

0.57

0.88

0.73

Parallel/Alternate Forms

References for Reliability:

1. All reliability was reported for Scale Scores.2. Inter-Rater: Between parents

References for Content Validity:

1. Measure Development: Extensive literature searches were conducted. Mental health professionals and educators were consulted, and pilot tests were run in creating this measure.2. The current CBCL measure has been refined after years of use. Old items that failed to discriminate significantly have been replaced, and slight changes were made in the wording of various items to make them clearer. Currently, all the items discriminate between referred and nonreferred demographically similar children (p<.01). (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001).

Construct Validity:

Validity Type

Not known

Not found

Nonclincal Samples

Clinical Samples

Diverse Samples

Convergent/Concurrent

Yes

Yes

Yes

Discriminant

Yes

Yes

Yes

Sensitive to Change

Yes

Yes

Yes

Intervention Effects

Yes

Yes

Yes

Longitudinal/Maturation Effects

Yes

Yes

Yes

Sensitive to Theoretically Distinct Groups

Yes

Yes

Yes

Factorial Validity

Yes

Yes

Yes

Criterion Validity:

Not Known

Not Found

Nonclinical Samples

Clinical Samples

Diverse Samples

Predictive Validity:

Yes

Yes

Yes

Postdictive Validity:

Yes

Yes

Yes

References for Criterion Validity:

ASEBA does not report positive or negative power because the results are confounded with the cut points and sample characteristics.

Sensitivity Rate Score:

0.92

Specificity Rate Score:

0.82

Overall Psychometric Limitations:

Psychometrics for this study are very good.

Translation Quality

Language(s) Other Than English:

Language:

Translated

Back Translated

Reliable

Good Psychometrics

Similar Factor Structure

Norms Available

Measure Developed for this Group

1. Spanish

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2. French

Yes

Yes

Yes

3. Tagolog

Yes

4. Vietnamese

Yes

5. Chinese

Yes

Yes

Yes

6. American Sign Language

Yes

7. Farsi

Yes

8. Polish

Yes

9. Russian

Yes

10. Urdu

Yes

Population Information

Population Used For Measure Development:

The 1983 original sample used to develop the measure consisted of 2,300 children assessed at 42 mental health agencies. The children were 4-16 years of age with diverse problems. The sample included children from diverse ethnic groups, SES levels, and locations.

Measure has demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in which populations?:

Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse

Domestic Violence

Neglect

Use with Diverse Populations:

Population Type:

Measure Used with Members of this Group

Members of this Group Studied in Peer-Reviewed Journals

Reliable

Good Psychometrics

Norms Available

Measure Developed for this Group

1. Developmental disability

Yes

Yes

2. Disabilities

Yes

Yes

3. Lower socio-economic status

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

4. Rural populations

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

5. Child abuse

Yes

Yes

Yes

6. Latinos

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Pros & Cons/References

Pros:

1. Well researched and widely used.

2. Newly revised measure.

3. DSM-IV oriented.

4. Provides information on strengths of the child.

5. Inexpensive to administer and score.

6. Computer-generated reports are available with clinician-friendly feedback.

7. Parallel forms are available.

8. A computer utility called “A2S” is available from ASEBA to easily export data to SPSS.

To obtain a full list of references, please see: Bérubé, R. L., & Achenbach, T.M. (2005). Bibliography of published studies using ASEBA instruments: 2005 edition. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families; or contact ASEBA.•

A PsychInfo search (5/05) for “Child Behavior Checklist” or “CBCL” AND “6-18” anywhere revealed that the CBCL/6-18 has been referenced in 76 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Discrepancy between this number and the number provided by authors may be related to search terms. Searching only for “Child Behavior Checklist” or “CBCL” yields 4,437 peer reviewed journal articles, but this includes earlier versions of the measure.

In addition, the measure has been used in many other countries, and articles from those countries may not be available in PsychInfo.